The second Trump Cabinet had its first meeting on February 26, 2025. Unlike the Biden Handler’s Administration, this is expected to be a regular event, and the First Lady wasn’t in charge, not that a woman of Melania Trump’s abilities and accomplishments wouldn’t do well, and she wouldn’t require Cabinet Secretaries to call her “doctor.”
At least one Congressional Democrat, who is fast becoming the face of the Democrat/socialist/communist (D/s/c) Party was somewhat less than enthusiastic about Elon Musk, who was also present for the meeting:
Texas Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett caused a social media firestorm after telling Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief Elon Musk to "f--- off" in the latest example of her public opposition to the newly formed agency’s push to cut government waste and spending.
"F--- off," Crockett told reporter Joe Gallina outside Capitol Hill on Tuesday when asked what she would tell Musk if she could tell him anything.
Crockett’s reaction immediately drew blowback from conservatives on social media, who took issue with the liberal firebrand’s tone.
Graphic: X Screenshot
Musk, standing in his signature black suit jacket with a T-shirt underneath, spoke at the meeting in which the media was present and made some clarifications about what he and DOGE are doing, as well as a recent email sent to government employees.
"I actually just call myself a humble tech support hero," Musk stated. "As crazy as it sounds, that is almost a literal description of the work of the DOGE team is doing is helping fix the government computer systems," he said, saying the computer systems are "extremely old" and there are many mistakes in the systems.
"So we are actually tech support," Musk said. "It's ironic, but it's true."
And so it is. Musk also addressed last week’s e-mail asking federal employees to respond with five things they did the previous week. Many soon-to-be-former agency heads told their employees not to respond, and D/s/c everywhere were outraged. The very idea they would have to respond to an e-mail from the representative of the President was infuriating. The idea they would have to list five things they’d done in a week insulting and just, just impossible! Musk explained:
"I think that email was perhaps interpreted as a performance review, but actually it was a pulse check review. Do you have a pulse?" Musk said. "And if you have a pulse and two neurons, you could reply to an email."
Musk said the task was "not a high bar" and should be something "anyone could accomplish."
"But what we are trying to get to the bottom of is we think there are a number of people on the government payroll who are dead, which is probably why they can't respond," he said. "And some people who are not real people... like they're fictional individuals that are collecting a paycheck… well, somebody is collecting paychecks on a fictional individual, so we're just literally trying to figure out are these people real, are they alive, and can they write email, which I think is a reasonable expectation."
Musk also addressed the ultimate purpose of DOGE’s work:
"We simply cannot sustain a country on $2 trillion deficits," Musk said, noting the interest on the national debt exceeds Department of Defense spending.
We spend a lot on the Defense Department, but we're spending like $1 trillion on interest. If this continues, the country will go, become de facto bankrupt. It's not an optional thing."
"It is a central thing that's the reason I'm here. And taking a lot of flack, and getting a lot of death threats, by the way," he added. "But if we don't do this, America will go bankrupt. That's why it has to be done."
In Musk’s actions and direct and concise explanations Americans see the difference between the Deep State, D/s/cs and Normal Americans. They come to work every day with no expectation of working, unsupervised with no expectation of producing anything, from home. If asked to provide five examples of what they’d done in a week, they wouldn’t find that the least unusual or insulting. They’re taking their boss’s money; they own them results and explanations. They could list, in a minute or two, five things they’d done, and more, that day.
Normal Americans also understand they can’t spend more than they earn, and neither can the federal government, at least not for long. Like Donald Trump and Elon Musk, they feel a real sense of urgency about ending fraud and waste and paying down the debt. They see a Cabinet of capable and dedicated people working for, not against, them for a change.
They’re also relieved no Cabinet Secretary is telling them all about their sexual preferences.
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Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.